Method of nesting can bodies



pri!22,1930. N'JSCH AL 6 METHOD OF NESTING CAN BODIES Filed March 50, 1927 Patented. Apr. 22, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE NEW YORK AS SIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

OF YORK, N. Y., A. CORPORATION OF METHOD OF NESTING CAN BODIES Application filed March 30,1927. Serial No. 179,598.

This invention relates to a method of nesting can bodies, and more particularly to a method of deforming can bodies of the ordinary cylindrical type so that they may be nested one within the other as a means of decreasing the space otherwise required when they are packed for shipment or storage; the invention contemplating both the deforming of the can bodies after they have been formed in and delivered from the body machine and also deforming at the same time that the body blanks are shaped about the horn and their ends seamed together.

Explanatory to the purpose of the invention, it will be stated here that the present invention has been devised as a means of overcoming the great expense of shipping can bodies in their original cylindrical form, which requires considerably more space for packing than the actual volume of the bodies; also, as a means of overcoming the disadvantages in the method that is now used in flattening can bodies so. that they may be packed closely together. It is a fact that it is more economical, more practical and desirable (due to certain conditions which include special skill in machinery required and the advantages of skilled labor. to manufacture the can bodies in economically located plants, then ship the bodies to the canneries or other points of use and there perform the remaining steps in the process of manufacture, which includes flanging and capping, than to manufacture the cans at each separate place of use.

In view of the above, it has been the principal object of this invention to provide a method of deforming and nesting can bodies so that approximately ten or twelve bodies canbe packed in a space ordinarily required for each body when not deformed, and, in this way, to further-advance the advantages and practicability of large scale production and to reduce shipping costs to a minimum.

More specifically stated, the object of the invention resides in the deforming of a can body by forming a. longitudinally extending depression from one end toward the other which causes the diameter of the can to be gradually reduced from that end toward the other so cylindrical form and whic 'a single blank having its ends joined together that it may be telescoped within a similarly deformed body.

Another ob ect of the invention is to so deform the can body that it may easily, and

without causing damage to the bod be returned to its original cylindrical orm for filling and capping.

A further object of the invention is to deform the bodies so that the extent to which they may be telescoped together is limited and to thereby prevent any damage or trouble that might be caused should the bodies when packed become com letely telescoped.

A still further object of the invention is to so locate the deformed partof the bodywith respect to the body seam that the seams will,

in no way, be injured during the process of deforming or reforming the body. Y

Broadly stated, the invention consists in the making of cylindrical can bodies, then deforming them so that they may be nested one within the other and later separated and reformed into their original cylindrical shape.

In accomplishing the objects of the invention, I have provided the details of construction, the preferred forms of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, where- ]I1- Figure 1 is a pers ective view of a can body that is deformed or nesting in accordance with the present invention, showingin dotted lines the outline of the body before being deformed.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal, sectional view of the deformed body.

in a seam 2 that extendslengthwise of the body. At the side of the body and opposite the seam is an inwardly deformed wall portion 3 of triangular outline which is formed may be made from by pressing the side of the body inwardly to-.

tion are rounded off into the body so that no crease, or indenture, is formed in the metal that would be difficult to straighten out when the body is reformed, and the edge of the body at the inwardly deformed end likewise curves gradually into the deformed portion and no sharp. turns or depressions are made that would prevent its being straightened out for 7 receiving the end or cover.

The triangular, or wedge shaped, and inwardly deformed portion that extends through an arc of approximately one hundred and twenty degrees at one end of the body and is gradually converged in the lengthwise direction of the body to near its opposite end into a rounded off point that is approximately one-fourth inch from the end and just below this point the body is stretched outwardly a slight distance so as to provide a small,outwardly projecting hump 5 which serves as a stop for limiting the extent to which this body may be telescoped within another. This detail of construction prevents any trouble that might be caused by bodies becoming com- "pletely telescoped on account of endwise pressure thereon while packed.

By following this method of deforming and nesting the bodies it is possible to put from ten to twelve times as many in a case than is I where they-may be deformed and packed and possible if they are not so deformed, and the economy in space, both in shipment and in storage, is readily apparent. It is further apparent that by this method no damage is done to the seam of the can for the reason that that side of the body is, in no way, deformed or changed. It is also apparent that since at no point is the body dented or bent abruptly, .it may be easily straightened out and left in its original cylindrical form for receiving the ends. By this system, the manufacture of can bodies in large quantities can be carried on at economically located plants shipped to their points of use where they are then'straightened out and the manufacture finished by flanging and capping.

Having thus described my invention, what I claimas' new therein and desire to secure by Letters-"Patent, is:

The method of nesting can bodies of the same size having a side seam permanently joining the edges thereof which consists in similarly curving the side wall of the can bodies inwardly from one end thereof to a point adjacent theother end thereof to a gradually decreasing extent, whereby said bodies are tapered and adapted to be fitted telescopically one within another.

2. A can body having a side seam permanently joining the edges thereof, and having the sidewall portion thereof de-formed inwardly from one end to a point adjacent the other so as to gradually decrease its diameter throughout the extent of the de-formed portion, whereby said bodies are tapered so that one body may be fitted telescopically within a similar de-formed body for nesting the can bodies for shipment or storage.

3. A can body having a side seam permanently joining the edges thereof, and having a side wall portion of substantially triangular form curved'inwardly toward the axis of the body and extending from one end of the body to near the opposite end, whereby the diameter of the can body is gradually decreased throughout the extent of the de-formed portion so as to permit the body to fit telescopically within a similar de-formed body;

4. A can body having a side seam permanently joining the edges thereof and having a side wall portion of substantially triangular form curved inwardly toward the axis of the body and extending from one end of the body to near the opposite end, whereby the-diameter of the can body is gradually decreased throughout the extent of the de-formed portion so as to permit the body to fit telescopically within a similar de-formed body, said body having an outwardly de-formed portion serving as a stop for limiting the extent to which the bodies may be telescoped.

5. A can body of cylindrical form having a side seam permanently joining the edges thereof and having an inwardly de-formed wall portion of substantially triangular shape extending from apoint near one end of the body to the opposite end in gradually increasing width and depth and merging into the body in a smooth regular curve, whereby one body may be fitted telescopically within a side seam permanently joining the edges thereof and having an inwardly de-formed wall portion of substantially triangular shape extending from a point near one end of the body to the opposite end in gradually increasing width and depth and merging into the body in a smooth regular curve, whereby one body may be fitted telescopically within a similar de-formed body for nesting the can bodies, said body having a boss pressed outwardly from the body adjacent the vertex of the triangular portion to limit the extent to which the body may be telescoped.

7. A can body having a side seam permanently joining the edges thereof, and having the side wall portion thereof substantially opposite' said seam, de-formed inwardly from one end to a point adjacent the other, so as to gfi'adually decrease its diameter throughout e extent of the de-formed portion, whereby said bodies are tapered so that one body may be fitted telescopically within a similar de- 5 formed body for nesting the can bodies.

'8. The method of nesting can bodies of the same size and of uniform cross sectional area having a side seam permanently joining the edges thereof, which consists in similarly 10 bending the bodies so as to taper each body whereby said bodies may be fitted telescop- 1 ically one within another for a greater portion of the length of the bodies.

Signed at Seattle, Washington, this 21st 15 day of March, 1927.

NORBERT J. SCHAAL. 

